Rushing a sketchy health plan

Saturday

May 30, 2009 at 12:01 AM

The efforts of the Obama administration to reform or, as is more likely, to revolutionize our health care system deserve the close scrutiny of all Americans, since the outcome will have enormous ramifications for every one of us. Knowing that the devil is in the details, Americans are understandably anxious to know what Obama's plan will look like.

An urgent question is when will we become privy to the details of Obama's plan? Will it be before or after Congress acts? Time is also short. Obama has said he wants Congress to act this very summer.

It is instructive to contrast Obama's approach to health care reform with that of the Clinton administration. To their credit, the Clintons made copies of their proposed legislation widely available to stakeholders well in advance of any vote. In contrast, it seems that little information has been forthcoming from Obama. Is his reticence, along with his eagerness for an early vote, a purposeful component of his strategy?

Since the Clintons made their plan available for all to study, evidently the Obama administration suspects that this openness was one reason for the failure of the Clinton proposal. Could this be why the administration wants to move ahead and press for a vote before any but a handful in Congress have had a chance to read the plan?

Come to think of it, this was a winning strategy in passing the stimulus package. Will we let them do this to us again?

Robert C. Warren

Venice

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